Areas of Expertise

What is a Psychologist?

Psychologists complete rigorous training to become a registered and licensed health practitioner and registration is with the National registration authority (AHPRA). Psychologists are licensed to practice in all states and territories in Australia.

How do Psychologists become Licensed in Australia?

Psychologists complete a similar level of study as other professions such as a lawyer or a doctor. Psychologists need to complete a 3 year degree, usually in psychological or behavioural science. The initial 3 year degree provides training in advanced statistics and the science of human behaviour. After achieving high marks in this undergraduate degree, psychologist’s complete a 4th honours year. This 4th year can be the final year of a Bach of Psychology or a postgraduate honours after completing an undergraduate bachelor degree.

Once passing the 4th year of full-time study, psychologists are eligible to enter an internship or masters/doctoral program at the university as a registrar. Entering the final two years is not guaranteed and only a very small number of 4 year training psychologists will find an internship or masters program. In order to find an internship or masters position applicants will typically be experienced practitioners and recognised for advanced research skills in Psychology.

Psychologists much complete a minimum of 2 years in the final stage before gaining full registration. In total, psychologists complete a minimum of 6 year in full-time study or in an internship to gain registration. The final two years usually involve closely supervised practice of counselling, mental health assessment, organisational consultancy, research and teaching roles. Supervision is completed by a senior psychologist who has completed years of additional training and practice. Psychology supervisors have been practising for more than 3 years and complete additional accredited training in supervision of psychologists.

Psychologists typically complete over 150 hours of face to face individual supervision with a senior accredited supervisor and will submitted a thesis or research project before applying for full registration. The internship or postgraduate training typically takes more than 2 years and many psychologists will enrolled for 2-5 years beyond the first 4 years of study.

Most psychologists have completed extra training in addition to the initial 6 years. Extra training can include completing a PhD, additional masters or graduate diplomas or a clinical doctorate. A PhD involves the highest level of study in research in a specialised field. A PhD in Psychology involves the use of advanced statistics/mathematics and investigation of human behaviour. Clinical Doctorates in Psychology involve more clinical training and a moderate sized thesis. Here are just some of the different fields that psychologists can focus on:

Most psychologists listed will have been studying or working in the industry for over a decade before entering private practice. This provides psychologists with extensive study and training before providing counselling to the community. The level of study is similar to a GP or a lawyer, which means that you can be assured that a registered psychologist is well trained and experienced before entering private practice. In addition to the 6-10 years of full-time study, psychologists complete additional workshop training in Australia or overseas, as some specialist qualifications are only available overseas.

Psychologists complete 30 hours of professional supervision to maintain their registration per year, and this involves 10 hours of face to face individual supervision with another more experienced psychologist. While this process sounds nearly impossible, finding a Brisbane Psychologist is very simple. Our website provides information on Brisbane Psychologists and what they do best!

Yu Takizawa Quals: B Sc (Hons), M Couns, M App Psych Multicultural Counselling: Every person is unique and has different preferences and needs. Every person has unique cultural values, beliefs and different ways of dealing with situations, which come from the unique combinations of racial, ethnical, sexual, professional, and personal backgrounds. A therapy can be most […]

Dr David Wells Quals: B Psych (Hons), Dip Prof Couns, D Psych (Clin Geropsychology). Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: sometimes called therapy’s third wave this therapy approach seeks to minimize the struggle clients have with their thoughts. When the struggle is minimised we look to our value structure to dictate our direction in our […]

Claire Pang Quals: B Psych Hons, Master of Clinical Psychology Emotion Focused Therapy: Emotion-Focused Therapy (EFT) is an empirically-based approach to help people accept, express and regulate emotions. The process of working experientially with emotions in therapy helps clients heal their emotional pain. Emotion-Focused Therapy has been proven effective for depression, childhood trauma and […]

Nicole Wimmer Quals: B Sc (Psych), MA (Psych), PG Cert Mgmt, Grad Dip Safety Science, MAPS. Health Psychology: For people suffering chronic pain following an injury, day to day activities are a struggle, sleep is disturbed, work and social life is impaired, and relationships are negatively affected. There is generally a multitude of medications taken […]

Greg Turner Quals: B App Sc, Grad Dip App Sc (App Psych), Cert GMH, MAPS Happiness Development: Greg first began utilising the concept of ‘Happiness’ some 17 years ago when starting out in private practice and draws from Buddhist philosophy and principles that proposes that happiness is something to be worked at every day of our […]

Susanne Gilmour Quals: BA, Cert Teach, Grad Dip Social Science, Grad Dip Psych, Assoc MAPS. Teenagers – 13 to 17 years: The teen years are full of opportunities such as part-time jobs, deciding on a career path, discovering the opposite sex. But with the opportunities also come challenges such as peer pressure and […]

Dr Rose Gillett Quals: B Psych (Hons), D Psych (Clin), MAPS Grief and Loss Counselling: Grief is a strong emotion tied to sadness and love around the passing of a loved one or a significant change in life such as a relationship breakdown. Everyone is affected by grief in different ways and has different […]

Leia Redman Quals: B. Psych; M. Psych (Clinical); MAPS; CCLIN Managing Challenging Behaviour in Children: Parenting a child can be the most joyous, yet most challenging job, you will ever do. Finding a consistent and effective discipline system can alleviate a great deal of pressure in the household. Do you find that you are: Explaining yourself […]

Amanda Hansen Quals: B Psych, MAPS Social Anxiety: Some people experience high levels of anxiety relating to social situations. Many worry about embarrassing themselves or being judged negatively and subsequently find themselves avoiding social interaction. Counselling Approach: Through the use of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) we can explore the thoughts associated […]

Jim Adsett Quals: B Psych (Hons) Addictions: Alcohol, drugs, computer games, shopping, exercise. Not all addictions are bad. People sometimes need help getting perspective on their addictions so they make a sensible decision. The question to ask yourself is what am I avoiding. Do the costs to myself and my relationships outweigh the benefits. Counselling […]

Matthew Ryan Quals: B Psych (Hons), MA (Marriage & Family Therapy) Couples Therapy: Although quite common, conflict in a couple’s relationship is very distressing and if ongoing and unresolved can lead to eventual relationship breakdown, depression and anxiety conditions. The great majority of troubled relationships and marriages can be assisted to regain the openness, joy […]

Kelly Gall Quals: BSc (Hons), MPsych (Health), MClinPsych MAPS First Responders: First responders (police and emergency services) are exposed to a range of organisational stressors and potentially traumatic events unique to their employment. Cultural factors and mental health stigma within these settings often make it challenging for people to seek assistance. When assistance is […]

Helen D’Silva Quals: MA of Psychology (Sport & Exercise), Certificate IV in Training and Assessment, Certificate IV in Small Business Management Sports Psychology: Having a mental game plan is essential not just for the elite athlete, but also for anyone looking to achieve a certain health and fitness goals or achieve long-term change. In elite […]

Dr Rose Gillett Quals: B Psych (Hons), D Psych (Clin), MAPS Stress: Stress is a common blanket term for an intense intrapersonal experience. It may be discomfort at light anxiety or intense pressure inside the body and head in response to outside expectations. Stress results in physical changes in the body, releasing more cortisol […]

Matthew Ryan Quals: B Psych (Hons), MA (Marriage & Family Therapy) Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is a fairly recent development in the field of psychology. It grew out of the well-known Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT), and is enhanced by the inclusion of aspects of the Mindfulness approach. Counselling Approach: Matthew […]

Dr Catherine Hynes Quals: Phd (Clinical Psychology & Clinical Neuropsychology), MA (Cognitive Neuroscience), BA Hons (Philosophy & Neuroscience) Personality Disorders: Although it is not a term that I personally favour because there is so much prejudice associated with it, “personality disorder” is so commonly used that I have included a listing under this term. […]

Dr Michael Free Quals: BA (Psych), MA, Dip Clin Psych, PhD CBT: Although Dr Free was extensively trained in behaviour therapy, he is primarily a cognitive therapist. He has written “Cognitive Therapy in Groups“, a 24 session manual of group cognitive therapy that can be used in individual therapy and uses cognitive and schema […]

Dr Amanda White Quals: PhD, B Psych (Hons), B Beh Sc, DipH, MAPS. Hypnotherapy: Human beings regularly and naturally alter our states of consciousness. Consider, for example, the differences between feeling alert, daydreaming, reading a good book or watching TV, and sleep. Hypnosis, an experience entered into through a process termed induction, sets up a state of […]

Susanne Gilmour Quals: BA, Cert Teach, Grad Dip Social Science, Grad Dip Psych, MAPS. Grief and Loss Counselling: Grief is not a mental disorder, but a normal response to a loss that has great significance for an individual, usually associated with the death of a loved one. However, many other kinds of loss […]

Ashley Cooper Quals: B Psych (Hons), M Psych (Clinical), MAPS Social Anxiety: For most people, it is perfectly normal to feel a little bit nervous in situations where we might be scrutinised by others e.g., giving a speech or going alone to a party, however for people with social anxiety, being the focus of other people’s […]

Dr Catherine Hynes Quals: Phd (Clinical Psychology & Clinical Neuropsychology), MA (Cognitive Neuroscience), BA Hons (Philosophy & Neuroscience) Phobias: People can develop an intense and overwhelming fear of a specific thing, and this can be very disruptive to people’s lives. Common phobias include public speaking, snakes, spiders and other animals, and germs, but this […]

Matthew Ryan Quals: B Psych (Hons), MA (Marriage & Family Therapy) Transgender: Dissatisfaction or confusion with gender identity can cause overwhelming feelings of hopelessness, shame, distress and depression, and sometimes and even thoughts of suicide. A caring and compassionate psychologist can help you to sort out your thoughts and feelings, and bring to light your true […]

Would you be interested in a FREE emotional health check-up by a Senior Brisbane Psychologist or Counsellor? Many of us have been to the local GP for our physical health check-up, but what about our emotional health? We have been listening to what you believe is important! At Vision Psychology, we offer this complimentary service to the […]

Leia Redman Quals: B. Psych; M. Psych (Clinical); MAPS; CCLIN Obsessive Compulsive Disorder in Children: Obsessive Compulsive Disorder can be debilitating and frustrating for children and teens. It is defined by obsessions and compulsions that are time consuming and cause distress. Obsessions are the thoughts that go around and around in the mind, almost as if there […]